


The One Where Shaw Misses Root

by Emanemmy12



Series: How Two Halves Become a Whole [7]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, The dudes are only mentioned in two sentences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:03:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2762384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emanemmy12/pseuds/Emanemmy12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is another prompted fic. I combined two prompts for Shaw missing Root and the pair of them cuddling. :) Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where Shaw Misses Root

It was a bad day to be in the business of crime. Sameen Shaw was not in the mood to be dealing with all this bullshit. She slammed the nearest attacker to the wall and ducked as another swung his meaty hand at her. With a growl she threw an uppercut with her left hand, connecting soundly with his jaw. The punch left a red scratch along where her ring had connected with his skin. Normally she would have loved to see the damage of the symbol of her connection with Root did to other people when she was in a fight, but this time it just left her more annoyed. That annoyance grew and seeing as the man’s partner was out cold, Shaw began to beat the shit out of the poor man. It was all in the name of making the world safe, of course. Rare was the day that Shaw actually lost her temper, especially on a mission, but this pig got on her nerves more than most of the perpetrators did. He had been planning on murdering his wife and then marry the woman’s sister. She gritted her teeth and slammed another fist into his face. The crunch it made on contact was satisfying in a way that Shaw couldn’t describe. It wasn’t until her arm was grabbed that she realized that she was panting and her hands were speckled with blood. 

“Working out a little tension there Shaw?” John asked. His voice was his usual deep tone, but there was a small hint of worry in the way that spoke. 

She shoved his hand off of her arm and scoffed. “I’m fine.” He didn’t say anything, but he started walking to indicate that they were done here. She wiped her hands on her pants, pleased with her choice in color. Black didn’t show blood stains.

“Ms. Shaw, Mr. Reese,” Harold’s voice suddenly appeared in her ear. “I’m pleased to report that there is nothing left for you to handle this evening. Ms. Shaw, perhaps you should find some other activity for your anger. I’d prefer not to be the organization that is causing deadly injuries.” 

“He’ll be fine, Harold.”

“Consider it a warning, Ms. Shaw. I trust your opinion as to the fact that he will be fine, but would rather not have to worry about it.” 

Shaw sighed and clicked off the coms. “I’ll see you later,” she intoned to John who just nodded. There was a bar nearby that Sameen went to for various reasons and she made her way there. She wasn’t sure whether she should find someone to sleep with or whether she should just get drunk. Root had been gone for almost three months. There had been no warning, no messages since, and no way of contacting her. It wasn’t that Shaw couldn’t be by herself. For most of her life she had been by herself. It was that she had gotten used to Root being there, no matter how annoying that was to admit. They worked painfully well together even in a non mission context. Shaw would do the grocery shopping, Root would clean and do laundry, and they’d both avoid ever having to cook. Sliding onto a barstool, Shaw waved her hand to indicate her usual order. With that done her mind turned, trying to figure out just why she had lost herself a bit earlier. It was embarrassing. Shaw was unemotional, collected, and calm. That was how she was supposed to be. Maybe it was true that she had a bit of tension that still hadn’t been worked out, but lately she’d given up on finding anyone who could help with that. It was true that she and Root had an agreement about it, but the fact remained that Shaw didn’t really feel like being with anyone else. Sex with Root was for some reason irritatingly better than with anyone else. Sameen sipped on her drink, ignoring the looks from the other people around her. She had never really been that picky when it came to her sexual partners. Just long as they didn’t stick around. With Root though, their coming together had been less about sex and more about how they had fit into each others lives. There had been too much attraction for them to just be friends and too much mutual respect for Root to be just a dalliance.

The first that that they had even gotten together had been spurred by the fact Shaw had nearly lost Root to a particularly dangerous mission. There had always been something about Root that caused Shaw to feel. Like it was a chemical reaction that she couldn’t resist. Almost as if Root could reach into her heart and twist it into reacting as it should, turn it into something filled with a gentle tingling warmth laced with an icy fear at the thought of loss. No one else had ever be able to elicit those reactions in her. Sadness was still something that Shaw barely felt, but she was confident that love, as odd as her version of it might be, was something that she felt towards Root. Sameen frowned at that thought. If this is what it felt like to love someone when they weren’t around then she really didn’t appreciate it. It was like an annoying itch that kept on affecting how things were supposed to be. She was on her second drink now and was grateful that no one was interacting with her. With these thoughts in her head, Shaw couldn’t be sure how she would behave. 

“Is this seat taken?” The light teasing words were barely out of her mouth before Root settled herself on the stool next to Shaw. For a second, she wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been heard, but then Sameen turned and Root was given the full force of a glare. She smiled widely, the familiar sight making her heart breathe out the tension that had filled itself. Even in her anger, Sameen was exquisite. “Sorry I’ve been gone so long, Sam. The boss had a lot for me to do. But I think I’ll be on a break for a bit, so that’s good.”

“You’ve been gone for three months, Root.” 

“I have indeed. I broke up two extremest groups and prevented a bombing in Russia.” She smiled, looking eager as if searching for praise. “Amongst other things.” 

The only thing Root got was an eye roll. “And not once were you near a computer? Near a post office?” 

The questions surprised Root and for a second she nearly teased Shaw for missing her, but looking at the two empty glasses and the look on Sameen’s face, she knew that wasn’t the right decision. To challenge what Shaw had been feeling would be to make her deny it flat out and Root didn’t want that to happen at all. The small differences in how her lover reacted spoke louder to her than the noisier emotions of others. It was a privilege to have Sameen Shaw miss you while you were gone. To call it anything else would have been a crime. Root cherished the moments when she could see Sameen clearly. Usually that was only when she teased her enough that Shaw couldn’t take it and had to act before she had to process. Over the years it had struck Root that Sameen was more physically expressive, even in terms of emotions. It had been hard to figure out the balance between where she was projecting and where Shaw actually could meet her emotionally. It wasn’t that she wanted anything to be different. Root loved and understood Sameen as she was, but it was hard sometimes. She was an emotional being herself and that meant that sometimes she just needed to hear things. It wasn’t perfect, but it was them. Honestly Root wouldn’t have changed it even if it were possible. This meant of course that she had to decided on a course of action for Shaw’s question. With a gentle smile she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Sameen, if it had been safe I would have contacted you.” She then reached over in her moment of sincerity and placed a gentle kiss on Shaw’s lips. Gentle fingers brushed Root’s cheek and cupped the back of her head, pulling her in to deepen the kiss. It was slow and Root sighed happily into the kiss as Shaw held her there. 

Eventually Sameen released Root and it was her turn to smirk. “Want to get out of here?” she asked. Root raised an eyebrow, but Shaw already knew what the answer was. She threw money for her drink on the counter and reached over to tug Root by the hand. They were going home. 

Later that evening, once Root lay back, exhausted, Shaw turned, wrapping a leg around her. “Really, sweetie, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I really cannot go again,” Root explained, a hand coming up to run up the smooth skin of Shaw’s thigh and to rest on the other woman’s hip. Sameen only chuckled and shifted closer, butting Root’s chin till she moved it. Shaw settled in so that Root was able to rest her chin on the top of her head comfortably. Their bodies were both slightly sweaty and so their skin stuck together, but Shaw just closed her eyes, letting herself remember just how nice it felt to be skin to skin with Root. It wasn’t even about the sex, though that had been spectacular. “Are we cuddling?” Root asked, her voice sending vibrations through Shaw. 

“Shut up.”

Root chuckled and shifted in closer to her lover. She was very happy to be back and to once again occupy the space that was slowly moving from being Shaw’s to being theirs. It was doubtful that she’d ever be able to be a permanent figure. The world was too filled with bad people and the Machine always had a plan that needed carrying out. She wished she could be here for Shaw and the rest of the team more often, but that simply was not possible. Root had given her life to her God far before she realized what exactly that meant, what she would have to sacrifice. True, even if she was able to stay here permanently it wouldn’t have been boring, but would be something steady, something permanent, which was now a thing Root had learnt that she desired. She sighed happily and shut her eyes. This would have to do for now. Their stolen moments of bliss were enough for her to keep going. It terrified her to think that one day she wouldn’t be the Machine’s chosen one, her hand upon the Earth, but she also knew that that would be the case one day. She’d be too old or too injured. Until that day, though Root would be glad for the small moments she was given with Shaw. They had more time than she thought. She tilted her head and kissed her lover’s beautiful dark hair. It was usually pulled tightly into a ponytail, but Sameen often let it down when they were going to bed. Root loved how soft it was, how it waved just so. She hummed and Shaw shifted against her, their bodies having slightly stuck together. Shaw flung an arm across Root’s chest, pinning the other woman and Root knew then that she was asleep. Apparently she’d fucked Sameen right to sleep, Root stifled a laugh, not wanting to wake her and shut her eyes. Sleep would come to her eventually too, though certainly not as fast. Root was often kept awake by thoughts deep in the night and during missions would often talk to the Machine, discussing ways of seeing the world. But when she was here, with Shaw, her mind slowed and drifted. It was lulled by the deep breaths and heartbeat next to her. It was a breath of peace in a world of so much chaos. Root fell asleep not soon after, arm curling around Shaw.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all know the drill. If you have your own prompts, put 'em here. http://waitingintheflowers.tumblr.com/ask Thank you for reading!


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